Reign (Roam Series, Book Six) Page 6

  The storm had come on too suddenly; there was no warning, no explanation. I felt the freezing sea consume me, heard the cracking of wood and the shouts of the men.

  I reached for the sheathed sword at my back as I was tossed overboard. Unrefined rage lit my veins with fathomless heat.

  Something was happening.

  Even as the water rushed into my nose and mouth, I could breathe, see clearer, and hear different sounds around me.

  I knew the ship was gone, and the crew was dead. The light pierced my consciousness and breathing became easier.

  I closed my eyes.

  “…she’s not breathing! Fuck- my arm!” Logan was hovering over Roam.

  I dropped to my knees, pool water saturating the pant legs of my khakis. It took seconds to absorb my surroundings.

  The high school. The pool. Roam, not breathing, lying lifeless next to the pool.

  “Move!” I shouted, pushing Logan out of the way. He alternated between gripping his forearm in disbelief and trying to wake up Roam.

  I tipped her face up and neck back, pinching her nose and delivering two full breaths.

  Nothing.

  “I don’t know where that guy went-”

  “Breathe, baby, breathe,” I begged her, between puffs of air. She was so broken and small, and I tried desperately to focus on bringing her back to life and not on the fact that only minutes ago I was in the middle of an ocean in another universe.

  Finally, she gave a tiny cough, and I turned her as she gagged and vomited pool water on the floor. She was rasping, digging her fingers into my arms, and when she began to cry, I knew she’d be okay.

  Before I could kiss her, I was traveling again.

  This time, I stood in the darkness of a cool bedroom, the tinkling of music notes coming from somewhere near the wall. A baby’s cries drew me over, and I moved toward the crib in the dim nightlight.

  She waved her small fists in the air, her blond wisp of hair stealing my breath.

  “Violet,” I hushed, reaching for her. She couldn’t have been more than two months old. I wanted to hold her but tried to decide if it was safe. I’m traveling. Through lives. Why is this happening?

  Am I making this happen?

  “Shh… it’s okay, sweetheart,” I soothed, tracing her tiny face, her silken hair. I felt someone else’s presence and turned to see Laurel standing in the doorway.

  “Is she hungry?”

  “Yes,” I answered automatically, gesturing to her. “I’ll get a bottle…”

  “Please feed her, West, I’m so tired.”

  I stared at her, and then looked down at my wedding band.

  Go. Back to Roam.

  “I love you, Vi,” I whispered, turning back to my baby.

  And I was moving again.

  This time, I tried to control my surroundings. Icepond. Castle.

  Roam.

  I was dressed in heavy garb, a mesh mask covering my face. Through the darkness, I could see another person next to me.

  Logan.

  Roam emerged from the bathroom, and I could tell she’d just finished vomiting. She was sickly pale, thin, and half of her face was covered in green paint.

  Unchained Melody began to play from the great hall, and she stopped in midstride, pain slashing across her beautiful face.

  She flattened her back against the wall of a darkened corridor; the same corridor I knew led to the room Violet and Eva were hiding in.

  “Cam?”

  Logan lifted his mask, and she exhaled quickly. Her expression was lost, defeated. My God, I’d forgotten how destroyed she looked. “Oh Logan… thank God… I think I’m sick… in my mind, I can’t focus…” I turned to her, and gave her so much credit for pulling herself together and nodding to me. “This song makes me sad. I’ll be okay.”

  Logan turned to me. “I’ll guard the hall.”

  I watched the fear mask her face, and I reached for the smooth curve of her jaw.

  “I must warn you- if you touch me, you will be sorry,” she threatened, so wavering, so brave. “You have no idea what I’m capable of.”

  What she was capable of?

  She is capable of enduring hell.

  I was going to kiss her. I was going to save her.

  But I traveled again.

  This time, I recognized a pulling sensation in the back of my head. I remembered Eva describing magic to me, and what it felt like; a pulley, ropes constantly moving, and the only way to control it is to focus on slowing the tug.

  Am I making magic?

  I had to be under some kind of spell. There was no way I could just travel from time to time, picking my way through history.

  Could I?

  I was back in the water.

  “… Dad? Holy shit- Dad-…”

  Christopher’s voice forced me to sit upright, and I looked down at my soaking wet clothing. He was pulling at my shoulders, and I realized he was reaching for the sword slung over my back. “Chris?”

  “Asher was right,” he grinned, and I noticed his face. He was thinner, and a slight, blonde scruff of facial hair made him look older than seventeen. “Where’s Mom? And Logan?”

  I took in my surroundings; a cell, a single toilet, a thin mattress.

  “They’re still there. I’m back, in Icepond, current day, aren’t I? I have to get Roam, I can’t just leave her-”

  He stood, glancing through the bars. “Come on, I have to figure out how to hide you-”

  “No, I wasn’t supposed to come back without her,” I stood, cracking my knuckles in fists.

  “Asher’s been appearing to me in my dreams,” he said, and I turned to him. “It’s not just Eva. I can do things, I can make magic- and so can you.”

  “What?”

  “You have to use your interests… your beliefs, your emotions,” he said. “It’s personal. That’s what Asher told me. Your greatest weaknesses are your greatest strengths, because they give you the power you need. Eva has always loved music, and that’s why her powers came out that way first. Asher says her greatest weakness is passion… and passion creates fire and electricity.”

  “And my weakness?” I listened to him, trying to adjust to the enormous relief that Chris was safe, and Eva was alive while processing his information.

  “Grandfather said it’s Mom. And you know history. You know the past.”

  I climbed to my feet, looking around the cell. Three stone walls, iron bars.

  “And yours?” I opened my arms, holding him against me, taking the time to be thankful for his safety.

  He hugged me, and then pulled away excitedly. “I don’t know yet. That’s what he’s trying to help me find.’”

  “Where is your sister?” I tried to digest his words.

  His expression darkened. “Which one?”

  I felt my stomach turn. “How long has it been?”

  “A month. Violet’s in a glass coffin, like a creepy Snow White. Eva put her there. Her pregnancy is making her sick every time she does magic.”

  “Time is passing faster here,” I whipped back to my son, watching his blue eyes light up. “Are you safe? They’re not hurting you? Or Eva?”

  “I’m safe,” he said, nodding. “Eva’s being kept in her room. Will just came down to see me. They’re together most of the time.”

  A small noise in the hall drew both of our attentions, and I tried but failed to find a place to hide.

  “It’s okay.” Christopher smiled as a young maid about his age approached the bars. She nearly dropped the tray she was carrying when her wide, brown eyes fixed on me.

  “Christopher? Who-”

  “It’s my dad,” he explained, accepting the tray of food through the bottom of the bars. “Dad, this is Valerie. She was Eva’s maid. We can trust her.”

  The girl shook her head quickly, her dark, brown skin almost disappearing into the shadows. “He’s coming, Christopher, any minute,” she managed.

  I watched him grip her hand through the bars once be
fore touching her cheek softly.

  I knew that look on her face, and on his face. I’d seen it for hundreds of years, and I knew at that moment my son had fallen in love.

  If that was the last time I’d ever see him, I thanked God that I saw him this way.

  “Val, you can help us-”

  “I am nothing, Christopher, I am just a maid. I have no power over Eric or Meredith. I do not know how this is going to end, and I am afraid for you.” She whispered the last words, and my heart broke for her.

  She loves my son.

  I moved to the bars, and she turned her gaze to me.

  Something in her eyes reminded me of Roam when I’d first met her. Pensive; determined. A bravery that hasn’t yet awakened. I looked between the two of them.

  “Valerie,” I began, and she lifted her small face to mine. “Thank you for helping us. I can see that you care about my son very much.”

  She nodded quickly, a tear slipping down her cheek.

  “Don’t let her be your weakness,” I said to Christopher, still watching Valerie. “Or he will use it against you. Let her be your strength.”

  I thought of Roam’s face, her frightened eyes, and her breathless tears as Troy carried her to the bed right in front of me.

  The stone began to crumble in the dungeon.

  Chapter Ten

  Logan

  “Roam.”

  She stared out the window at the sea, unmoving.

  “Where is Troy?”

  “He’s been in his chamber. He’s mourning.”

  She nodded, still fixed on the ocean. “He’s gone. West is gone.”

  “The wreckage was found, but his body-”

  “I can feel it, Logan,” she turned to me, pressing her fist over her chest, over her heart. “He’s not here. He’s not here with me. He’s gone.”

  “You have to focus on Christopher and Eva.”

  “I am nothing without him.” She turned back to the window.

  I ground my teeth, clenching my fists. “And if I’d said that a month ago? When we dropped out of the sky and landed in the middle of some ancient world? If I’d just given up, because Violet was gone?”

  “You’re stronger than me.”

  “Bullshit. Bull fucking shit, Cam. Look at me,” I turned her to face me, and she blinked rapidly at her tears. “How many times has West lost you? Did he give up?”

  “He knew I’d be back-”

  “You’d be reincarnated, but you’d never be back. Not the you he fell in love with. He just had to trust that he’d love whoever you were again. You owe it to him to keep going, and I owe it to Violet to keep going. We still have each other, Roam, and I’m going home to my girls. We can overtake this army. We can beat him,” I hissed, careful to check that we were alone. “Troy’s decided to marry you tomorrow. He won’t put it off any longer. Now that West is gone, he’s through waiting.”

  I knew that I was crushing her heart.

  “When Eva gets us out of here, she- and Chris- are going to need you. They’re going to miss their father. Be strong.”

  “And this baby?” She gestured to her middle. “I’m afraid to even love it. When we leave, will it just disappear again? I can’t lose another piece of him,” she crumbled, and I pulled her into my arms.

  “I don’t know those answers. I just know what we have to do.”

  “I know I should be strong right now, but I’m just so… so angry, so disgusted… Troy’s not the same, Rush,” she cried into my shoulder, gathering fistfuls of my sleeve. “I wanted to hurt him, to break him, but he’s just so young, and kind, and he’s…”

  I scowled. “You know what he’ll become.”

  “Look!” She pushed me away, gesturing to the sparkling diamonds and rubies at her throat, and hanging from her earlobes. “He sends me all these gifts, picks me flowers, writes me letters… how can I be cruel to him? I hate him for what he’ll do to me… hundreds of years from now.”

  “What he’ll do to you.” I gripped her chin, my eyes boring into hers. “Tie you to that bed. Hold you down. Cover your screams. You cut yourself to make it go away, do you remember that?” I flipped her arm over, tracing my fingers over her forearm. “You wanted to die.”

  Her chin quivered, and she turned back to the window. “It won’t be like that this time.”

  “I hope not. For your sake, and for his. Paradox or no paradox, I’ll slit his fucking throat.” I swallowed my anger, gripping her wrist. “I hate that you have to marry him, Roam. Eva hasn’t come yet. We don’t know if she will. West is gone, so all we have is each other, and if we’re staying, I’m going to be the one on that throne.”

  She turned to me, those green eyes reflecting the fear that I knew she was trying to deal with. “You think you can control his army?”

  “Yes. They respect me. They turned to me when West left.”

  She pressed her forehead to my chest, a small sob escaping before she could stifle the sound. “I love you, Logan.”

  I brushed my hand down the length of her thick hair, resting my chin on her head.

  “Love you too, Cam.”

  The wedding was morose, even worse without West. Troy was visibly grief stricken, and Roam had retreated into the same cold shell I’d seen years ago in Icepond. They knelt next to each other at the altar, both looking so young, and I stood at Troy’s side as he slid the ring onto her finger.

  The feast after the wedding was an inept attempt at celebration. When the meal was served, Roam barely touched her food. She danced in Troy’s arms, and I watched him speaking softly to her, wondering what he was saying.

  After a few hours, he turned and whispered something to her, and she paled.

  When he led her to the stairs, I wanted to spend the rest of the night getting shitfaced. With West gone, I was expected to keep order in his absence, so I plunked down in the oversized chair and stared at the people dancing and celebrating. I’ll let Roam be a distraction for Troy for as long as possible while I find a way to take over this kingdom. I needed to create a situation to make the soldiers favor me over Troy and solidify their trust in me.

  I thought through plots that involved staging an attempted assassination on Roam, waging war with another kingdom, and multiple levels of treason. Finally, after more than three hours had passed and I was just drunk enough not to care about Troy upstairs fucking Roam or me taking over the kingdom, I made my way through the castle toward my room.

  The darkened halls were dripping with torchlight, and I heard a sound from the end of the corridor. Swaying on my feet, I drew my sword, backing against the wall and narrowing my eyes.

  Roam burst from the chamber, Troy grabbing her before she could make it through the threshold of the door. He had her by the neck and against the stone wall in seconds.

  “Your father is a liar. Someone else has taken what I was promised,” he hissed, and as I approached, I could see her gown was torn and marred with streaks of blood.

  Troy had three raking fingernail marks down his left cheek, and it was then that I turned to Roam’s eyes.

  They were wild.

  Damp hair clung to her cheeks. She clawed at his wrist, finally going slack. I almost attacked him. She suddenly went silent, her hand skidding up his chest, moving with the ease of a prowling cat.

  He released her throat in surprise, and now she had him by the neck. I knew she was holding her breath.

  And I knew she was going to kill him.

  West had taught her countless ways to protect herself over the years, and I had seen firsthand what she was capable of.

  And I could only guess what Troy had just done to her… again.

  “Little queen,” he knocked her hand away and blocked her lunge, slamming her against the wall. “You doubt my power?”

  She caught her head from hitting the stone, the fierceness in her eyes frightening me to the core. She was possessed, panting, and crazed.

  And pregnant.

  I couldn’t let her fight him, again,
even with the skills that West had taught her. She was weaponless, and emotional, and Troy would kill her when it came to a match against strength.

  “I will forgive your transgressions.” He held her face in his hand, moving forward to press her against the wall with his body. “I will not forgive your father’s lies. We will war with Madreenon. If I am to wed their used princess, my soldiers will lay with every virgin in their kingdom.”

  “Perhaps I should lay with your soldiers first. Surely they have more to offer me than you do.”

  Fuck. Fuck Roam and her fucking quick, unmanning remarks.

  “Those who lay their hand on the queen will face certain death. Treason.”

  Her eyes blazed. “Loving me will be the death of you, Troy. Magic will kill you.”

  Confusion darkened his eyes, and I expected him to explode. Instead, he pulled her closer, putting his mouth on her ear.

  He whispered something that I couldn’t hear, and she whimpered.

  He turned her around and shoved her against the stone. Her cheek pressed to the wall, and her palms flattened over the uneven surface. He started at her back and tore the nightgown in half down the length of her spine.

  He had his dick in his hand for about half of a second.

  “Who goes there!” I noisily crashed my sword against the stone, hacking at a candelabra on the wall. Troy jerked away and Roam spun and held the torn fabric in her hand, trying to cover her naked body. I attempted to come off as medieval but sounded like the Giant in Wynn’s favorite childhood movie, Mickey and the Beanstalk.

  “Be gone, brother,” Troy snapped at me, and I squinted, swaying on my feet and pointing at Roam with my sword.

  “Oh, your majesties,” I slurred, grinning. “I’ve interrupted.”

  “Get to your chamber.” He snapped at Roam, and she nodded quickly. “Leo, you will escort her to her door. See that she is unseen and unharmed in her disheveled state.” He turned and reentered his own room, slamming the heavy wood.

  Obviously humiliated, she turned away from me. I followed the hollow of her back with my eyes, the curves and lines of her body.

  “Stop looking, Rush.” She broke into a near run, and I kept her pace.